Novel HR

Did you catch the webinar on Managing Emotions in Workplace Conflict with CharityVillage?

Read more or watch the video here.

How do you navigate emotions during workplace conflict? In this webinar excerpt, Sarah Albo, Certified Workplace Mediator/Trainer and Founder of Novel HR, delves into the tools professionals can leverage to manage conflict. The excerpt provides an overview of skills, techniques, and interventions for individuals to apply or implement during times of conflict. 🔽

https://okt.to/Gw5yn0

Workplace conflict by the numbers. ​​​​​​​​
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Avoidance is a common response to handling workplace conflict but not often the most effective one. Ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away, and typically makes it worse.​​​​​​​​
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If you're looking to develop your confidence around handling workplace conflict, contact us. We can help with coaching, mediation, and workplace training. ​​​​​​​​
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Join me and CharityVillage for a free webinar tomorrow, Thursday September 22 @ 1 pm est

How do you navigate emotions in workplace conflict?

In our free webinar on September 22, Sarah Albo, Certified Workplace Mediator and Founder of Novel HR will provide nonprofit professionals with tactics for managing their emotions while dealing with conflict in the workplace.

🗓 Save your spot now: https://okt.to/5NJBTg

This month's free webinar is coming up on April 12 at 1 PM EST​​​​​​​​
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Don’t let the title fool you - when I’m talking about “managing emotions” I don’t mean ignoring or suppressing them, whether that’s yours or someone else’s. It’s about understanding and integrating them to use the information they provide to better guide our actions.​​​​​​​​
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Emotions are one of the most challenging things we deal with in conflict - whether that’s because they overwhelm you, escalate things, or even shut you down. But they are an important part of our human experience, and something we can learn to work with.​​​​​​​​
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Use the link in my bio to register.​​​​​​​​
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[Image id: On a white background, an image of a laptop with the first slide of a presentation on the screen. The slide is a purple background with "Managing Emotions in Workplace Conflict". The Novel HR logo is in the bottom right corner and underneath the laptop image in black text is: free webinar, April 12 @ 1 pm EST, link in bio to register. End description.] ​​​​​​​​

Are you waiting for the annual performance review to check in with your employees?
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That's a missed opportunity for development and relationship building.
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A recent study from found that 80% of respondents want frequent check-ins with their manager - weekly, monthly, or as needed.
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These one-to-one meetings can be an effective way to strengthen connections on your team. They're important because they provide the opportunity to discuss goals and challenges, build trust and engagement, train and develop employees, and retain them.
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They also help you identify workplace conflict early and address it before it escalates.
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Here's a few tips to make them successful conversations:
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1. Schedule them regularly and stick to them - more frequent meetings could mean that you only need 10-15 minutes at a time.
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2. Listen and keep the dialogue open - employees who feel heard are likely to be more engaged in their work and organization.
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3. Share information or context needed to make decisions so employees are in alignment with organizational objectives.
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4. Provide clear and actionable feedback - without specifics, it's difficult to know and meet expectations for improvement.
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5. Create goals and plans with employees keeping the focus on their future growth.
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Are you meeting regularly with your employees or manager? Why or why not? Say more in the comments...
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Are you ignoring conflict in your workplace, hoping it will go away? ​​​​​​​​
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You're not the only one. A recent study found that 70% of respondents were avoiding workplace conflict.​​​​​​​​
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Unfortunately, this strategy rarely works in the long run. In fact, it typically makes the conflict worse and harder to deal with.​​​​​​​​
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Only 26% of employees believe their employer handles workplace conflicts well and the costs associated with workplace conflict can have a HUGE impact on both health and revenues.​​​​​​​​
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But it doesn't have to be this way. You can approach workplace conflict constructively and achieve positive outcomes, whether you're an employee or a leader in your organization. ​​​​​​​​
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If you're tired of the time, costs, and stress of workplace conflict, download our free guide to learn how to handle them more effectively.​​​​​​​​
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In the guide, you'll learn:​​​​​​​​
- How much conflict may be costing your organization​​​​​​​​
- What employees think about who's responsible for addressing disputes​​​​​​​​
- The benefits of workplace conflict when done constructively​​​​​​​​
- 5 tips you can implement to minimize destructive conflicts and make them easier to deal with when they do come up​​​​​​​​
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Get your free download with the link in bio.

Here's what a recent client said about their mediation experience:​​​​​​​​
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"Sarah was incredibly flexible and available, which made my ability to engage in the process much smoother. She also created an incredibly safe space to share and process my story, which ultimately made me feel more empowered to communicate on my own behalf. "​​​​​​​​
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To learn more about using mediation to resolve your workplace dispute just send me an email. I'm here for you. ​​​​​​​​
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Depending on the intensity of your workplace conflict, there's different options to look at for resolution. ​​​​​​​​
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If the conflict is relatively mild, hasn't been going on for a long time, and there is no risk of violence, you may want to encourage your employees to handle it themselves (so you don't always have to be the one stepping in for them.)​​​​​​​​
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If they are unable or unwilling to do so, as a manager, you may need to intervene. ​​​​​​​​
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Only a third of managers believe they are good at handling conflict though (LegalZoom, 2018) so if this is a growth area for you or the employees would prefer to speak with someone outside of the organization - you may need to bring in a neutral third party to mediate.​​​​​​​​
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If the situation is escalated, the employees are unwilling to proceed towards a resolution, or there are allegations of harassment, bullying, or other misconduct, you may need a more formal process like a workplace investigation or litigation.​​​​​​​​
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We talked about these in last week's webinar with Saira @ hrology which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AjvPn01Itc​​​​​​​​
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If you need support or facilitation through any of these levels, reach out. I can help with mediation or coaching related to workplace conflicts and Saira is your go to expert for workplace investigations.​​​​​​​​
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Image ID in first comment and alt text.​​​​​​​​
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Hashtags:

Join me next Tuesday, March 8 @ 1 PM EST for this month's free webinar on Intervening in Employee Disputes.​​​​​​​​
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I'll be going over when to encourage employees to handle it themselves, when you as a manager may need to step in to facilitate, and when an outside, neutral third party may be necessary.​​​​​​​​
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You may also find this relevant as an employee to determine when to get support when you're facing a conflict.​​​​​​​​
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Only a third of managers believe they are capable in handling conflict - if this sounds like you or your experience, tune in to learn how to increase your capacity to deal with interpersonal disputes in your workplace. ​​​​​​​​
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We can't avoid conflict in the workplace, but we can work towards making it constructive.​​​​​​​​
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Register using the link in my bio above.​​​​​​​​
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[Image id: On a white background, an image of a laptop with the first slide of a presentation on the screen. The slide is a purple background with "Intervening in Employee Disputes" and underneath, "When to step aside, step in, or get outside assistance". The Novel HR logo is in the bottom right corner and underneath the laptop image in black text is: free webinar, Mar 8 @ 1 pm est, link in bio to register. End description.] ​​​​​​​​
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True story.​​​​​​​​
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But seriously, we've talked about avoiding conflict this week and if you're looking to change how you approach these situations, mediation can be a helpful tool in resolving workplace disputes. ​​​​​​​​
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Ask me how.​​​​​​​​
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PS Big thank you to Rushauna over at for this genius post concept. ​​​​​​​​
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Image ID: A photo of Dwight from the office looking surprised. Underneath, the text "you: shocked to know that you can use a mediator to help resolve your workplace conflict" ​​​​​​​​
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Collaborating with today to talk about avoiding conflict in the workplace.

A recent study found that 70% of employees avoid difficult conversations with their boss, colleagues, or direct reports, and only a third of managers believe they are good at handling conflict.

Why is avoidance a common response to workplace conflict?

People may be worried about:
- damaging a relationship
- stating their needs
- emotional overwhelm
- power imbalances
- losing face
- nothing changing
- or retaliation

However, avoiding conflict typically prolongs or escalates the problem. Dealing with it (when safe to do so) can bring beneficial outcomes like:
- shifting perspective
- increasing transparency
- giving a sense of safety through a willingness to address issues
- solving problems that were previously ignored
- facilitating emotional processing and decreasing stress

Avoidance can be a fear response, so asking ourselves, how realistic is this fear can be helpful to determine what it is we're really afraid of.

Having a script to approach the conversation can be helpful. Try using this formula:

"I've noticed this... (the observable behaviour). I'm concerned about... (the organizational outcome at risk). I'd like us to talk about... (the difficulty the parties are having in working together to ensure the organizational outcome).

There's no insult or blame, and there's a future oriented solution focus.

Try it out next time you have a difficult conversation you need to undertake.

Feel free to contact .ca for more details!

This was me taking a picture when I was trying to shoot a video for an exciting collaboration I have coming tomorrow 😎

Stay tuned…

PS big thanks to Rushauna from for helping me with some content planning and being on my case to post more ☺️

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Did you catch Tuesday's webinar? We talked about conflict avoidance in the workplace - why we do it and and what you can do instead. ​​​​​​​​
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Avoiding conflict might be your default tendency and that's understandable. Check out the video to learn why and tips for how you can be more prepared to handle difficult conversations in your workplace.​​​​​​​​
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You can catch the replay on YouTube here or use the link in bio: youtu.be/ewgjdq6uZVw ​​​​​​​​
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[Image ID: An image of an open laptop with the first slide of the presentation. The title reads "Overcoming Conflict Avoidance" and the subtitle reads Building your confidence and capacity to handle workplace conflict". This is on a purple background with orange and white letters. Below, the words "available now" and "check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel" with "link in bio" because you're supposed to have a call to action on these kinds of things. I hope you enjoy it. End description]​​​​​​​​
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Thrilled to have made the Top 5 for 2021!

Watch for our IG collaboration later this month on conflict avoidance.

Really enjoyed putting this article together for CharityVillage and thrilled it made the top 5 for 2021!!

Watch for our IG takeover in the next few weeks…

Avoiding a difficult conversation? 5 Suggestions to make conflict a constructive experience. | CharityVillage Want more conflict resolution tips you can put into practice at your workplace? Join our free webinar on March 11, Do-It-Yourself Conflict Resolution. Click here for details and to register. Avoidance is a common response to dealing with conflict. It makes sense really, it’s the brain’s way of k...

Borrowing this for the feed because I’ve never had a definition of mental health resonate so deeply.

I’m also very happy to make this one post #100 🥰

Posted • Dr. Jean Cheng] Tending to our mental health is often less about striving, working harder, ticking off checklists, ensuring we are "highly responsible" and "ahead" in our recovery. Such acts, when pursued in a compulsive form, often disconnect us further from experiencing ourselves and nurturing a relationship with ourselves. Without a 'relationship with ourselves' — because this has been replaced with a 'relationship with tasks' — we will not be able to experience the sense of security, confidence, and groundedness that most of us actually seek when working to improve our mental health.

In therapy, I do not see clients as people who need to become "more". Instead, I see that they are ALREADY dignified, precious, and whole — but they have lost connection with this because of blockages they experience. (Note: losing connection with our preciousness is different from losing our preciousness. We can lose connection with the sun due to the clouds, but the sun is still there.)

Blockages that prevent us from connecting with our dignity, worth, and wholeness can include:
- External barriers such as abuse of any kind, being stuck in toxic relationships/environments, discrimination etc.
- Internal barriers such as adaptations within us that we needed in order to survive/remain in connection with important figures in their lives (e.g., perfectionism, a harsh and punitive internal critic, avoidance of feelings, etc)

As we start to make sense of the story of our various blockages and the way they have and continue to impact us, we start to have more space to access our deepest Self. We start to gently experience that the treasure we seek has always been within us — we just couldn't access it because of our wounds/trauma/abuse/adapations/etc. We start to get in touch with the 'who am I' that is beyond who we thought we were. We start to fall in love with the unexpected treasure within: Ourselves.

Follow Dr. Jean Cheng] for more of such content 💕

PS: caveat in comments 👇🏻

Ready to go for the webinar tomorrow!

You coming? There’s still time to register - link is in the bio.

[Image ID: a picture of a slide deck in Canva - lots of pictures, orange, and purple. End description]

Next Wednesday, December 1 at 1 PM EST I'm hosting a webinar on developing your conflict competence to help you better handle workplace conflicts. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'll be talking about why conflict can be so stressful, three things that might be holding you back from dealing with it, and what you can do instead (including what that could look like with coaching and mediation).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's free, will run about an hour (maybe more with Q&A), and at the end I'll be talking about how to work with me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Link in bio to register.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Questions or something you want me to make sure I cover? Hurry and comment below before I finish these slides...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Perspective taking is one of the most effective constructive responses in conflict resolution.

You don’t have to agree with the other person, but can you acknowledge and be curious about their position?

Some questions to consider might be:

- What’s important to them about it?
- How did they come to this opinion?
- Where might they have learned this?
- What do they think you are trying to accomplish?

Image reposted from .america via

Image description: on a white background, black text reads a quote from Barack Obama “Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins.” At the bottom, the image is credited to Mending Americas Political Divide in red letters. End description.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard talks about three different types of conflict that are common in organizations.
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Once you have a sense of which one your conflict relates to, you can better see how it is impacting you from coming to a resolution. This may also point to the business problem that needs to be solved through the resolution.
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Also - a couple of stats I found interesting:
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70% of employees avoid difficult conversations with their manager, colleagues, or direct reports.
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Only a third of managers believe they are good at handling workplace conflict.
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This is a big problem - conflict is unavoidable in organizations. You've got groups of people that might not have interacted in their daily lives, but in an organization, they're expected to get along.
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And that's not as easy as it sounds.
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The three types they go over are Task Conflict, Relationship Conflict, and Value Conflict.
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Task conflict relates to how employees do their work, what they are responsible for, how resources are allocated, or their reactions to policies and procedures.
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A resolution here might involve clarification or direction from management.
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Relationship conflict involves differences in personality, working styles, communication styles, preferences, or where the parties sit in the organizational hierarchy (also known as status conflict).
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A resolution here might include an agreement on how communication will occur, how often, and how disagreements may be handled in the future to preserve the working relationship.
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Value conflict continued in the first comment.
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This time, the caption and comment are the image description - it's all this info on a purple background with some bold font and orange highlights. Apparently bold text is in right now.

It's about to be Canadian Thanksgiving over here and I thought I would start it by sharing a bit about what I'm thankful for.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm thankful that I get to work for myself - as stressful as it can be at times, I wouldn't trade it for the flexibility and autonomy it brings.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm grateful for the support of family and friends - you help me keep going when I get stuck or discouraged.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm grateful for all of you following along here - it's been a year already! And I still owe you some videos...(I didn't forget Pri!)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm grateful to be able to provide a service that brings relief, strength, and kindness where it's needed. I've been fortunate to support and learn with people that truly have the answers they need within, and just need a little help to bring them to the surface.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Inspired by Lisa Olivera's post from the other day - if that sounds like you ⬆️, here's how you can work with me:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Conflict Coaching - 1 to 1 sessions (around 4-8 spread out at a rate that works for you) following a framework that helps you understand your constructive and destructive behaviors in conflict, prepare for difficult conversations, and how the conflict came about in the first place.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Mediation - facilitated dispute resolution to help both parties come to a jointly designed agreement that works for them.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Psychological Health and Safety Consulting - looks at organizational systems that are contributing to conflict and impacting employee mental health and recommends improvements.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you could use support and guidance to deal with conflicts in your workplace, send me an email or book your consultation using the link in my bio. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm here for you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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[Image ID: A picture of Sarah coaching a client. They are sitting at a black marble table in front of large windows.]

Join in tomorrow as the talks with .noble Founder of .

I’ve had the privilege of taking two courses with Cinnie and am really looking forward to this session (I’m just “on stage” for moral support ☺️)

Friday Sept 17 @ 12 PM EST on

Image Description: Image is a screenshot of a Clubhouse scheduled room in the Better Conversations club. There are four photos of the moderators and underneath the description of the conversation: “with Jessica Hawkins, Cinnie Noble, Keita Demming, and Sarah Albo. Join us this Friday as we speak with Cinnie Noble, Conflict Management Consultant, Author, and founder of the CINERGY conflict coaching model about how to have better conflict conversations. Listen in. Q&A.” End Description.

“It would be easy to blame employees, but that only contributes to the stigma of mental illness. It’s also a myth that people who experience mental illness can’t work. What isn’t a myth is that employers are becoming increasingly responsible for the link between job stress and mental illness, and this is something that comes with legal repercussions. We’ve long considered physical health and safety as a priority in organizations, and now mental health is getting the attention it deserves.”

Latest article is up on and linked in bio.

Image ID - a screenshot of a Medium article - the title is “Psychological health and safety is important in every workplace” and the subtitle is “I learned this in a Starbucks of all places”. Underneath, a photo of three people holding coffees together (a cheers maybe?) - an iced coffee and two lattes. They look delicious. Below, the image attribution (Nathan Dumlao at Unsplash) and the first sentence from the article - “By now, there is no shortage of information on how damaging workplaces can be to a person’s mental health. A 2010 study…” and for the rest please check out the article. End description.

Posted • For too long, the essence of what makes us human—empathy, values, emotions—have been called "soft skills" and relegated to the sidelines.

Yet these capacities drive everything: culture, engagement, leadership, innovation, collaboration. They are key to providing a context in which mental health and wellbeing can thrive.

Hi friends. Can you help me with something?
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I'm working on some content and thought I would see what YOU are interested in.
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If you could pick my brain for 20 minutes, what would you want to know? What can I answer for you about conflict resolution, mediation, or psychological health and safety? What would you like my help with in your workplace?
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Comment below or for more confidentiality just DM or email me.
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Much appreciated 🥰

📷:
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[Image ID: A side profile photo of Sarah in jeans and a black blazer sitting on a green couch in front of a white brick wall, large window, and a rubber plant. The couch is surprisingly comfortable, the high heels are not. End description]

A few weeks ago I was doing some research for an article and when I searched this phrase, over 100 million Google search results came up.
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100 MILLION!!!
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This came up in response to a post I saw where someone admitted to causing harm but made no mention of an apology.
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I was not impressed. So I turned it into an article. There's more to the story of the post, some info from the and the risks we might worry about when we have to apologize.
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"It’s safe to say that apologizing is a difficult part of our human experience. It means that we have to accept responsibility for causing harm and we might feel vulnerable, so it makes sense that we avoid it. For an apology to really land requires trust and letting go of the need to control the outcome, but it’s a fundamental part of our relationships and being in community."
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Apologizing is hard, even for us Canadians who do it all the time (sorry about that).
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Read the rest over on - link is in my bio.
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Image ID in Alt Text

Just going to leave this here.

via

I don’t know who needs to hear this but…

Posted • During the past year, we have had to make consequential decisions, often based on insufficient information and amid unparalleled uncertainty. These conditions are ripe for generating one of the most common emotions that I see in my psychology practice: regret.

Some regret decisions they made about the care of their aging relatives. Others are haunted by the knowledge that they inadvertently transmitted covid-19 to people they love.

Studies have found that a high level of regret is related to depression, anxiety and worse sleep and problem-solving. Most people feel a pang of regretted action quickly and intensely, but regret over inaction lingers longer.

If you tend to get stuck on the things you could have done better in the past, here are strategies to help shift your focus to a better future.

Read more by clicking the link in our bio.